Fox News Network outed a closeted gay businessman in Maitland because it didn't want to pursue a reality TV show about estate sales, according to a lawsuit in Orlando federal court.

The businessman, Silas Pierce, 61, is now suing Fox and the estate of the late Fox founder, Roger Ailes, for unspecified damages.

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Pierce claims that Fox made his sexual orientation public in court, along with personal information about his non-traditional family, and those revelations ruined his business in estate sales in rural Florida.

"My guy is not a spokesman for GLAAD or Lambda Legal," said Pierce's attorney, Ian Northon of Michigan, referring to two nonprofit groups that champion gay rights. "He's just trying to run a business and did for decades without anyone knowing about his private life."

Pierce ran a company called Estate Sales Stars and was tapped by Fox and its production company, Leftfield Productions, to star in the TV show. It was to be the first reality show on the Fox Business Network.

Fox pulled the plug on the show in 2014 after filming several episodes and after two of its stars turned out to have a history that Fox didn't care for, according to court filings in two lawsuits.

Pierce claims that Fox made his sexual orientation public in court. (Howard Simmons/New York Daily News)

Leftfield sued Fox in New York in 2015, resulting in a settlement. But Fox filed detailed allegations in the lawsuit about Pierce, which became public in media reports. Pierce filed for bankruptcy around the same time the Leftfield litigation started. He is now helping run another estate-sales company.

In its battle with Fox, Leftfield said the network learned about Pierce's background: "Fox News learned that Silas might be a gay man with a non-traditional family composed of himself and several adult-aged 'sons.' Leftfield cautioned Fox News that it was apparent that if he was gay, Silas was not out about it, and that accordingly, Fox News should be discrete as it certainly did not seem as though Silas would want his sexuality to be publicly revealed — and certainly not discussed as a part of the Show."

Pierce referred to two younger men who worked for him, and lived with him, as his sons. But Northon, his attorney, said they were actually adopted by Pierce's parents, who had fallen ill. Pierce had taken them in and called them sons because of the age difference, Northon said.

"This is a real family, but it's not a traditional family," Northon said. "I think they had adopted nine children total."

Northon said the worst part of what Fox said about Pierce was implying that something was wrong about the relationship, or that Pierce might have a sordid past. A background check of Pierce showed minor misdemeanors and traffic tickets.

"Pierce also disclosed before filming that he was single, never been married, and that he was a guardian of his adopted brothers," Northon said.

The network declined to respond to a request for comment. Attorneys for Fox have asked that the lawsuit be thrown out, saying they believe Pierce lied to them about his family, and that the filing of details about Pierce were in a privileged court document that the network itself didn't publish.

Attorneys for Elizabeth Ailes, Roger Ailes' widow, have filed motions to have his estate dropped from the case. Ailes left the network amid a sexual harassment scandal in July 2016 and died in 2017.

The controversial life and career of Roger Ailes

"Mr. Ailes has no real connection to this controversy," Ailes' attorneys wrote, adding that the complaint in the case doesn't say why Ailes would have a motivation for harming Pierce.

Ailes was known for his controversial management style. Joe Peyronnin, former president of Fox News, wrote for Huffington Post that Ailes had a "ruthless reputation," used a political litmus test for employees, and had a "bullish" and "brutish" style of management.

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Reality TV shows get canceled for a variety of reasons, said Andy Dehnart, a reality TV critic and writer who lives in Orlando.

"Shows fall apart all the time, and at all stages — before, during and after production — and for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes a production can't find the right cast, or something else happens," Dehnart said.

Northon said Fox was planning to fly Pierce to New York for a publicity tour when the show was canceled.

"The bottom line is my client was hired as talent for a reality TV show, and Fox decided to try and destroy my client," Northon said. "It's a political hatchet job."